The Tupolev '73', (''samolyot'' 73), was a Soviet trijet medium bomber of the late 1940s. It lost out to the Ilyushin Il-28 'Beagle'.

Development

The Tupolev OKB continued to develop the Tu-2 line with the advent of gas turbine power-plants. The Tu-8 ('69')was redesigned with two Rolls-Royce Nene I turbojet engines, replacing the piston engines in new nacelles. The new design was given the OKB designation '72' and official designation Tu-18 2 × Nene I, but was abandoned due to the more promising '73' design soaking up resources. Following the general arrangement of the Tu-2- Tu-8, '72', the initial '73' short-range bomber (official designation; Tu-20 2 × Nene I) had a shoulder mounted wing, a large unswept fin and rudder with integral dorsal fin, tri-cycle undercarriage and engines in long under-slung nacelles at about 1/3 span, which also housed the main undercarriage legs, when retracted. Before the design was finalised it was discovered that the Nene I engines were producing less power than expected; and not the expected , necessitating the addition of a

Rolls-Royce Derwent V The Rolls-Royce RB.37 Derwent is a 1940s British centrifugal compressor turbojet engine, the second Rolls-Royce jet engine to enter production. It was an improved version of the Rolls-Royce Welland, which itself was a renamed version of Frank ...

booster engine in the rear fuselage, exhausting at the base of the fin. The three-engined '73' (official designation; Tu-14 2 × Nene I + 1 × Derwent V) was accepted for development and the '73' first flew on 29 December 1947, with flight tests continuing until 31 May 1949, with promising results, resulting in a production order for ten '73S' pre-production prototypes, powered by

RD-45 The Klimov VK-1 was the first Soviet jet engine to see significant production. It was developed by and first produced by the GAZ 116 works. Derived from the Rolls-Royce Nene, the engine was also built under licence in China as the Wopen WP-5. ...

and

RD-500 The Klimov RD-500 was an unlicensed Soviet copy of the Rolls-Royce Derwent V turbojet that was sold to the Soviet Union in 1947. The Klimov OKB adapted it for Soviet production methods and materials. Development Producing metric drawings and ana ...

(Soviet production Nene and Derwent engines). None of the pre-production order were completed but parts manufactured at GAZ-23 were absorbed by the Tupolev Tu-14 production line at GAZ-39. Further development of the '73' line resulted in the photo-reconnaissance '73R' / '78' (official designation; Tu-16 2 × Nene I + 1 × Derwent V). The '78' was outwardly identical to the '73' with the exception of a retractable conical shutter over the intake of the rear fuselage Derwent at the forward end of the dorsal fillet. The '78' first flew on 7 May 1948 and conducted flight trials of the photographic equipment, which were unsatisfactory. Improvements to the photographic equipment notwithstanding the Council of Ministers cancelled all further development or production of the '73', '78' and '79' on 14 May 1949. Two more phot-recce projects were designed both similar to the '73' and '78'. The first '79' (official designation; Tu-30 2 × Nene I + 1 × Derwent V) was not proceeded with. The second '79' (official designation; Tu-20 2 × VK-1 + 1 x RD-500), was to have utilised an uncompleted '73S' airframe but development was cancelled as noted above. The VVS (''Voyenno-Vozdushnyye Sily'' - Soviet air force) rejected the three-engined bombers as they were averse to fielding aircraft with two engine types. They were also more in favour of the

Ilyushin Il-28 The Ilyushin Il-28 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-28; NATO reporting name: Beagle) is a jet bomber of the immediate postwar period that was originally manufactured for the Soviet Air Forces. It was the Soviet Union's first such aircraft to ent ...

for medium bomber roles. The AV-MF (''Aviatsiya Voyenno-Morskogo Flota'' - naval aviation), however, were in need of a torpedo bomber which was developed from the final '73' iteration, the '81 (official designation; Tu-14 2 × VK-1) as the '81T' (official designation; Tu-14T 2 × VK-1). Production aircraft were delivered to the AV-MF as the Tupolev Tu-14T.Gordon & Rigamant, pp. 117–129

Variants

''Data from: ''OKB Tupolev: A History of the Design Bureau and its Aircraft ;'72': Initial project for a tactical bomber powered by two Rolls-Royce Nene I turbojet engines, derived from the Tupolev '69' (Tu-8), not built. ::Tu-18 2 x Nene I: official designation. ;'73': Initial short range bomber project, powered by two Rolls-Royce Nene I turbojet engines, not built. ::Tu-20 2 x Nene I: official designation. ;'73': experimental bomber project, powered by two Rolls-Royce Nene I and one

turbojet engines, one built. ::Tu-14 2 x Nene I + 1 x Derwent V: official designation. ::'73S': Ten pre-production prototypes ordered but only partially completed before cancellation. ::'73R': original OKB designation for the '78' photo-recce design. ;'78': Reconnaissance version, powered by Rolls-Royce engines, one built. ::Tu-16 2 x Nene I + 1 x Derwent V: official designation. ;'79': initial project for a photo-recce aircraft based on the '73' ::Tu-30 2 x Nene I + 1 x Derwent V: official designation. ;'79': '78' powered by

Klimov VK-1 The Klimov VK-1 was the first Soviet jet engine to see significant production. It was developed by and first produced by the GAZ 116 works. Derived from the Rolls-Royce Nene, the engine was also built under licence in China as the Wopen WP-5. ...

Soviet-built Rolls-Royce engines. Originally designated '73R'. ::Tu-20 2 x VK-1 + 1 x RD-500: official designation. ; '81': Twin-engined medium bomber development of '73'. ::Tu-14 2 x VK-1: official designation. ; '81T': Twin-engined torpedo bomber development of '73' for the AV-MF. ::Tu-14T 2 x VK-1: official designation.

Specifications ('73' / Tu-14 2 × Nene I + 1 × Derwent V)

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Tupolev aircraft Tu-0073 1940s Soviet bomber aircraft High-wing aircraft Trijets Aircraft first flown in 1947